Income Tax raids have often hit headlines for various reasons from time to time. However, the largest raid in the country’s history involved an operation so extensive that officers resorted to manual counting after machines proved insufficient.
The country’s biggest Income Tax raid was conducted in Odisha which lasted for 10 days. Income Tax officials raided several divisions of the liquor manufacturing company, Boudh Distilleries Private Limited. Rs 352 crore was seized in this raid that lasted for 10 days.
The seriousness of this raid can be gauged from the fact that the Income Tax Department installed a machine with a scanning wheel during the raid to detect valuables buried underground. The Income Tax Department teams carried out this operation by raiding different locations.
The Income Tax Department also ordered three dozen machines to count the notes. Due to the large amount of cash found, employees from different banks were called to assist. Following the raid, the recovered money was loaded into a truck and deposited in the Income Tax Department amid tight security.
The Central Government honoured the officials who carried out this Income Tax raid in Odisha in August this year. This action by the Income Tax Department was led by the Principal Director of Income Tax Investigation, Officer SK Jha, and Additional Director, Gurpreet Singh.